How to Create a Huge Keyword List

Keyword research is a basic but very important task for website optimization. I'm not going to cover all the ins and outs of keyword research in this post; but I'm hoping that after reading it, you'll have a better understanding of how to do your keyword research more effectively.

A Common Mistake in Keyword Research

A common mistake people make when conducting keyword research is they keep the list too narrow. Here's an example: let's say I wanted to build a weight loss website. My first step would be to use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool and type in 'weight loss.' Below is an example of the results from this search.

At this point, many consider their research done and start building their site around the most trafficked phrases.

There are a couple of problems with this approach:

Many of these keywords will be too competitive for my website.

There are numerous other directions to approach this industry with keywords that I could actually rank for.

A Better Way to do Keyword Research

So what should be done instead? Rather than focusing on a narrow but deep list, consider many avenues to approach the site's topic.

After a little brainstorming, here are additional phrases that relate to 'weight loss':

Lose weight

Burn fat

Fat loss

Dieting

Weight management

There are a multiple ways to approach this topic. Not every industry will have numerous variations, but there will be at least a few.

By going broad, you'll find additional ways that people search for something. And chances are, you'll also discover high-traffic phrases that are less competitive.

Once you have a broad list, utilize your favorite keyword suggestion tool and drill down deeper to find other related keywords. This creates an extensive list of keywords to consider for both SEO and PPC campaigns.

Dan has been involved in online marketing since 1999 when he first started building websites for people. Since then he has worked as a template designer, regional account coordinator for a pay-per-click search engine, internet marketing trainer, and is the former Director of On-Page Optimization at SEO.com. Dan graduated from UVU with a degree in Information Systems, and currently lives in Lehi, Utah with his wife and two sons.